


The Rememberers

by Keiko Kirin (sakana17)



Series: Steak [12]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-11-24
Updated: 2002-11-24
Packaged: 2017-10-03 05:39:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakana17/pseuds/Keiko%20Kirin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blue stones, broken planets, and memories.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Rememberers

**Author's Note:**

> Many, many thanks to Martha and Lori for their emergency beta-reading.

Captain Hughes practically trembled with excitement. His first off-world mission. Major Gonzalez trudged up the hill after him, glancing back to check on Zalewski and Page, following close behind. He watched the captain scramble through the snow and wished Hughes didn't remind him of his sister-in-law's puppy.

So far, all they had found was what the MALP had transmitted back: a snowy, treeless field surrounded by hills. No sign of any Goa'uld yet, which was just as well. Gonzalez's right leg still ached from his last run-in with some Jaffa. The Jaffa had borne an unknown forehead symbol, which meant a new snake out there, running loose.

Hughes stopped on top of the hill. "Major!" he called.

Gonzalez joined him. Hughes had found something: a thin metal rod sticking out of the ground, about three feet high. Stepped, like those old antennas on transistor radios. Hughes took off his gloves and reached out, forefinger extended.

"Don't touch it!" Gonzalez batted his hand away. He looked along the hill top and spotted two more about twenty yards away on either side. "Wait here, and don't touch it," he told Hughes. He crunched through the snow to another antenna, and from there saw more sticking out of the snow, following the ridge of the hill. He walked back to rejoin his team.

"It's not emitting any discernible energy, sir," Zalewski said.

"If it's a barrier, it's not working, because we can walk all around it." Gonzalez looked ahead at a flat field of snow on the other side of the hills. He pulled out his binoculars. "No sign of settlement. But someone must be here, to put these things up."

Leaving Zalewski to keep an eye on the antennas and the gate, Gonzalez took Hughes and Page down the hill. They had gone about a hundred yards from the foot of the hill when Hughes slipped and fell. Snow flew up around him and they heard his muffled "ow!"

"Careful," he cautioned Page as they approached. Hughes hadn't righted himself yet.

The ground underneath changed as they reached Hughes. No wonder he'd slipped. Beneath the snow, the ground was smooth and slick. They had to tread carefully.

Hughes was on his back, looking up at them with big green eyes and rosy cheeks.

"Are you okay?" Page asked. "Can you stand up?"

"I think so." Hughes gripped Page's wrist, and she gripped his and pulled him into a sitting position. Hughes winced and hissed.

"Better you get back to the infirmary," said Gonzalez. "Make sure you didn't break anything."

"I'm fine, sir," Hughes protested as he got to his feet, but Gonzalez could tell the effort was costing him.

"What is this?" Page wondered aloud. "Ice?"

Where Hughes had fallen there was a patch of blue exposed. Gonzalez frowned and crouched to brush away more snow. It swept away easily from smooth surface. The ground looked polished, like marble, and there were variations in the solid blue.

Gonzalez stood up and slapped his gloves to shake off the snow. "No, it's not ice," he said.

He'd seen that blue before.

\-----

When Daniel opened his car door, the smell of freshly cut grass and the sputtering, loud buzz of an old lawnmower surrounded him. Balancing his box and overnight bag on one arm, he shut the door and checked his watch. As he walked around the house to the back yard, he glanced around at the dark, quiet houses and the pale, cloudy sky.

Jack finished mowing another strip of overgrown lawn before powering down the lawnmower.

"Your neighbors must love you," Daniel commented drily. At Jack's questioning tilt of eyebrow, he elaborated, "Sunday morning, and it's not even 7 o'clock yet."

Jack frowned a little and rested his hands on his hips. "Hey, the guy across the street has a leaf-blower he likes to fire up during The Simpsons." He nodded at the box Daniel was maneuvering from one arm to the other. "What's in the box?"

Daniel pushed the box at him until Jack took it. "Donuts."

Jack lifted the lid and inspected the selection. Daniel plucked one of the chocolate ones. Jack closed the lid and headed for the house, and Daniel followed.

Inside, Daniel relaxed at the dining table, propped his feet up on a chair, and watched Jack tinker with the coffee maker. Jack was wearing an old, faded, too-big t-shirt that hung loose over worn, baggy jeans. Daniel idly wondered if the shirt had once been black or blue. The smell of cut grass had followed them inside and mixed with the coffee aroma to create a distinctive early-morning aura.

Jack brought the coffee in and sat down across from Daniel. He poked through the donuts before settling on a glazed old-fashioned. He looked tired, rumpled. His hair stuck out in chaotic tufts that made Daniel want to pat them down. They ate quietly and sipped coffee in silence while milky sunlight stretched across the floor.

Jack wasn't going to talk about it. This didn't surprise Daniel, and secretly, guiltily, he was glad. Nothing he said ever seemed to help, and besides, it was over now. They had Teal'c back, they hadn't lost him, body or soul. SG-1 intact. Apophis probably -- possibly -- dead for real now. They could breathe again. For now, for a space, they could breathe.

Daniel intended to enjoy this breathing space. He stretched, sank lower in the chair, lingered over his coffee, and watched Jack breaking a cinnamon donut into quarters. Watched the cinnamon and sugar frost the tips of Jack's fingers as Jack lifted and ate one of the fourths. Indulged his urge to reach across the table and catch Jack's hand and suck the cinnamon off his middle and index fingers.

Jack sat very still and looked at him. Daniel let go. Not quite smiling, Jack touched Daniel's lips with his thumb and rubbed a smear of cinnamon across Daniel's bottom lip. Daniel licked it off and sat back, watching him closely.

Exhaustion. That made sense. The last few weeks had taken their toll, especially on Jack. Physical and mental exhaustion. Well, they had a nice long forty-some hours left to take care of that.

Daniel stretched again and stood up. "I'm going to bed."

Jack looked at him. "Yeah."

Daniel tapped the back of the chair. Jack looked back down at his coffee and said, "You go ahead. I'm... I'm going to finish the lawn."

Not exhaustion, then. Not exactly. Daniel smoothed his hand along the chair back. "Okay."

He left Jack nursing his coffee and picking at a donut, and went into the bedroom. He stood in the middle of the floor and debated whether it would make things better or worse if he went back out there and rubbed Jack's shoulders like he wanted to. Then he heard the lawnmower start again, sound muffled by the house.

He undressed and slid into bed with the book he was reading on textile trade in the pre-Inca Andes. Opened the book and thumbed the pages, listening to the whirr of the lawnmower. And fell asleep after half a chapter to the same droning hum.

Daniel woke up cold, alone in the bed. The light leaking through the window blinds was late morning haze. He got up, wrapped the top blanket around himself, and went out into the hall to adjust the thermostat. Jack kept it at a breezy 65. Daniel cranked it to a comfortable 74. He wandered down the hall to check the living room, and saw through the window Jack sitting outside on the deck, facing away. Again Daniel felt the urge to go rub Jack's shoulders, do something to make him feel better, but he was naked and wrapped in a blanket. He wandered back to the bedroom as the heat kicked on.

The house smelled of cold coffee, mowed lawn, sugar glaze, and musty heater. Dusty daylight left patches here and there. Jack slid the door shut and followed the path of light across the living room where it disappeared by the front door. He stopped in the hallway to turn the thermostat back down.

Daniel was in bed, lying on his stomach, facing away, curled in the bed covers. He wasn't asleep, although he had been less than an hour ago when Jack had checked. Jack stripped and climbed into bed, settling on his side and staring out at the doorway and carpet and Daniel's book lying face-down and open on the floor. The bed shifted as Daniel rolled over. A soft touch along the outer rim of his ear, along the curve of his neck. A soft kiss -- just a warm press of lips -- on the back of his shoulder. Then the warmth enveloped him, strong and heavy and comfortable. His very own Daniel blanket.

"I'm sorry," Jack said quietly, staring at the bent and cracked spine of Daniel's book on the floor.

"For what?" Daniel's voice was low and warm and rich and a vibration against his neck.

Jack shrugged, and felt the glide of Daniel's skin against his. "For not being in the mood."

Daniel kissed him again, very softly. "It's okay." After a moment, he raised up and leaned forward to look at Jack. "Do you want me to go? Do you want to be alone?"

Jack rolled onto his back and rubbed the back of Daniel's neck, ruffling the short hairs. "No."

Daniel gazed into his eyes and almost-smiled. "Okay." He paused, and from the way he briefly lowered his eyes, Jack braced himself for whatever came next. Daniel said, "I guess this is still weird sometimes, isn't it?"

Jack rubbed Daniel's neck again. His fingertips swirled the blunt short hairs there. "Yeah, I guess so." He glanced away.

"When we were on Fazkal..." Daniel trailed off, and Jack looked at him, but Daniel was looking away, off to the side.

"Yeah?"

"There wasn't this shadow," Daniel said. "It's always here, with us. What we risk, what would happen, deep down second-guessing: 'was this the right choice'. There, it was just... us."

Jack stared at him for a moment. "And the lizards," he added, trying to sound light.

"And the lizards," Daniel agreed, meeting his eyes. He smiled softly, and Jack rubbed the top of his head, messing up his hair.

Daniel settled more comfortably, didn't move away, and they stayed like that, looking at each other for a long time, until at some point Daniel touched him: touched his face, his cheek, his lips, his brow. Stroked his hair. Until Jack felt light and peaceful and lazy. Daniel could do that to him. Unknot the knots. So simple.

Jack let his eyes close, and kept his face still while enjoying the anticipation of where Daniel would touch next. Waiting for the hovering, gentle slide of fingertips on his chin, earlobe, eyelid, tip of his nose. Then Daniel murmured, "Roll over. I'll give you a back rub."

Jack opened his eyes and raised one eyebrow. Daniel blinked and held his hand up. "No. I didn't mean..." He wiggled his fingers and gestured vaguely. "Just a back rub. To make you relax."

Daniel shifted and Jack rolled onto his stomach. He folded his hands under his cheek and closed his eyes. Daniel's legs slid around his hips and Daniel's comfortable weight settled on his ass. Daniel started at his neck and shoulders, palms rubbing while his fingers kneaded Jack's stiff muscles. His hands were very warm, and the touch invitingly familiar. Jack rolled his shoulders and complied when Daniel's hands urged him to unfold his arms. Daniel's heat and breath skimmed him as Daniel reached forward to caress his forearms and rub his wrists.

Daniel scooted lower to work on Jack's back, fanning his strokes out from Jack's spine. Jack sighed, feeling drowsy and just turned on enough to get a buzz. Daniel scooted forward again, hands smoothing up Jack's back, and Jack felt Daniel's balls brush against his ass.

Daniel's hands slowed. He rubbed the back of Jack's head and leaned forward to kiss Jack's cheek. Jack opened one eye.

"Feeling better?" Daniel asked.

"Weightless," Jack said. He squirmed around onto his back and wrapped his arms around Daniel, pulling him into a slow kiss. Daniel sank against him, hungry and hard. Wonderfully hard. Jack rocked beneath him and rubbed his dick against Daniel's until he was just as hard, just as hungry.

Daniel ran his fingers through Jack's hair and deepened the kiss. He filled Jack's mouth with his tongue, swirling, restless. His warm skin, a mixture of smooth with hairy with tough, invited touch. Jack glided his hands down Daniel's back and arched, devouring Daniel's tongue.

When Daniel broke from the kiss, his face was flushed. He licked his lips and brushed them over Jack's ear. "Now," he said. Jack shivered from the ticklish touch of his lips.

Daniel spread his legs and straddled him, leaving no doubt. He rose up on his knees and reached for the nightstand, fumbling in the drawer. His cock bobbed heavy and dark. Tempting, too tempting. Jack closed his fingers around it and rubbed up from the base. Daniel hissed a breath. His cock throbbed in Jack's palm, and Jack squeezed it, enjoying the deep, familiar, arousing pulse.

Daniel watched him and covered Jack's hand with his own, slicking it with gel. Jack let go, let him cover his fingers and make them slippery. He reached around the curve of Daniel's ass, touched and caressed and pressed his fingertips inside. Daniel sank back onto them, around them, eyes closing, body shuddering. Very hot, very tight.

"Oh, christ," Jack whispered. A shot of fire raced through him. His pulse pounded in his balls, in his dick. He kept rubbing inside, and Daniel moved subtly with him, opening his eyes to give Jack a contented, horny, smug look. He reached for Jack's cock and stroked it with lube. Jack bit the inside of his lip and pulled his fingers free. He ran his hands over Daniel's ass and the backs of his thighs, looking at him, considering.

Daniel caught his look and cranked up the smugness. He leaned forward and grabbed the pillows. Jack's head bumped against the mattress. "Hey, what?"

"I think this will work," said Daniel, patting Jack's thigh. Jack lifted his hips and Daniel shoved the pillows under him. Oh, yeah, this was going to work.

Daniel reached back, guided him, guided the tip until it was just inside, and Jack held still because everything, all of it, was driving him wild. He pressed a little more, then pushed up as Daniel pushed down, and oh god, there. He was buried to the hilt, and Daniel was writhing around him, making little gaspy groaning sounds, so sexy, so gorgeous, his cock rock-hard and wet.

Jack wrapped his fingers around Daniel's cock, rubbed the tip with thumb while he stroked and kneaded. Daniel thrust, and the rocking, pulling motion made Jack's breath catch. He tugged on Daniel's prick so Daniel would thrust again, pull again. And that's when the ringing started.

It was loud but muffled, and in his sex daze, Jack couldn't place it for a moment. Daniel stayed still and sighed impatiently.

"It's mine. Let it ring."

The thought occurred to Jack that if someone was calling Daniel's cell phone, they weren't going to have the luxury of letting it ring, but just then Daniel rocked back, then up, then back again, and Jack didn't even notice when the ringing stopped because he was following Daniel's rhythm, and he loved Daniel's rhythm.

He noticed, however, when the next ringing started, because it was his phone.

First Daniel's cell, now Jack's home phone. There went the rest of their leave. Jack stopped and gazed up at Daniel. Daniel looked at him steadily, then looked at the phone. He reached across and picked up the receiver and handed it to Jack, releasing him as he moved and rolled off. Jack hissed from the abrupt loss of contact and spat into the phone, "Yeah?"

Daniel kissed his shoulder, gave him an _our-lives-suck_ look, and climbed out of bed, gathering up his clothes and leaving the bedroom.

\-----

Major Gonzalez had known Doctor Jackson would want to see P2S-572 for himself, but he hated to ruin another team's leave. Although Major Carter and Teal'c had apparently been spending their leave in the SGC, and Gonzalez couldn't guess what Colonel O'Neill might have been up to -- TV and solitaire, if the common wisdom around base was to be believed. One rumor had it that Jackson had a girlfriend. A friend of a friend of someone on base had spotted Jackson dressed for a date, getting into his car with an overnight bag. Gonzalez suspected the heavy date was with a library book, but he still felt bad. Leave was leave, even for people with no social lives.

So when SG-1 filed into the briefing room, Gonzalez couldn't quite meet Doctor Jackson's eyes. Instead he looked at Colonel O'Neill and wished he hadn't; O'Neill's glare burned. Maybe common wisdom was wrong; no solitaire game was _that_ good. Major Carter looked interested, though. Teal'c seemed the same as every other time Gonzalez had met him, which Gonzalez took as a good sign.

General Hammond entered and they all took their seats at the briefing table. Gonzalez passed around the photographs from 572, and explained how Hughes had "discovered" the field of solid blue rock. He finally chanced a look at Doctor Jackson and saw him scowling at one of the photos. His gaze moved as he passed the photo to Major Carter and he made eye contact with Gonzalez. A chill passed through Gonzalez. He remembered that look: pursed lips and a cold laser beam stare. The doctor was pissed. Maybe he'd had a date with something other than a library book after all.

Major Gonzalez shifted a little while Jackson examined each photograph carefully. He'd never warmed to the guy, although he respected his intelligence. The respect was not mutual. Gonzalez had little use for archaeology, and Jackson had even less use for Gonzalez's tactical and leadership skills.

Jackson looked up and asked, "Did you bring any samples back?"

Gonzalez directed his reply at General Hammond. "Sir, I thought we'd better bring Captain Hughes to the infirmary first. Before we did anything else on the planet, I wanted to consult Doctor Jackson."

Jackson leaned forward and twirled his pen between his fingers. "Well, Doctor Jackson wishes you'd brought some samples back."

Gonzalez stared at him. Leave was leave. He'd be pissed, too. "Doctor, it's the same stone. I'm sure of it."

"What about these metal rods?" Major Carter asked, pushing a photograph across the table to Gonzalez. "You said they were antennas?"

"They resemble antennas. We weren't able to determine their function. They're stuck into the hill above where we found the stone. Lieutenant Zalewski did some scans of the ground but couldn't tell how far down the antennas went. Pretty deep, he said."

"So whatever they are attached to is hidden underground," said Teal'c.

Gonzalez nodded. "That's my guess."

Jackson set down the photograph he had been studying. "General Hammond, if this the same rock that was used to make the stones we found on P4X-925 --" He stressed the word _if_ and shot Gonzalez a look. "-- then this is a potentially important discovery. We were never able to determine how the stones from 925 worked in defeating the Goa'uld."

"If they defeated the Goa'uld," put in Colonel O'Neill, also stressing _if_. He and Jackson exchanged looks. Gonzalez got the feeling this was an old argument. "We don't even know it's the same stuff. And if it is, maybe it's just what it looks like: rock. Maybe all we've discovered is some new element in the galaxy." He gave Gonzalez a false smile. "We'll name it 'interruptium'."

Jackson coughed a little and broke in. "I'd at least like to get a sample of the stone to compare, sir." He shot Gonzalez another look. "And find the inhabitants, see if they know how the blue stone works."

"We couldn't find any signs of habitation," said Gonzalez. "Just the antennas."

Jackson turned to General Hammond. "Someone put them there."

General Hammond glanced around the table. His gaze rested on Colonel O'Neill, whose glare hadn't mellowed much. Gonzalez inwardly sighed and sent a silent apology to SG-1. Leave was leave.

\-----

The air was cool and misty. Fog seemed to rise above the ridge, but when they reached the top, Daniel saw that it was snow, very fine and light. The MALP had left deep tracks where it had crawled over the white terrain. Sam crouched next to one of the antennas and checked for radiation.

"Nothing, sir," she reported.

Jack in snow gear and sunglasses was almost unrecognizable. He walked over and stood next to Sam and cocked his head, waiting for the antenna to do something.

Daniel scanned Teal'c's steps in the snow, following the MALP's tracks. "I'm going down to take a look at the stone." He started down the trail left by the MALP.

Teal'c had already cleared some of the snow from the curve where the hill met the flat, white plain. Daniel could see crooked veins of blue leading out from the hill, like ancient rivers meandering to meet the sea.

He unshouldered his pack, crouched, and brushed his hand through the snow. The mottled, opaque blue shone up through the dusting of white. It did look the same -- Major Gonzalez was right about that. Daniel swept away more snow. No inscriptions, no carvings. In fact, no imperfections in the surface at all, so far. It was flat and smooth, like polished marble.

He pulled out his tools and started chiseling near where the veins poured into the flat rock-bed. He tapped the chisel lightly at first, but the stone was hard and didn't crack. He gradually worked up to full strength; still nothing. He sat back in the snow and pulled his hood off, warm from the exertion. The chilly, windless air refreshed him.

Sam and Jack had climbed down the hill and stopped beside him.

"Any luck?" Jack asked.

Daniel inspected the tip of his chisel. "I may need to go back for better tools."

Jack nodded and went off with Teal'c to take a look around. Their footsteps left patches of blue across the white plain.

Sam crouched near Daniel, inspecting another spot. Daniel went back to work, hammering the chisel into the stone. With no wind and the misty air, there was a feeling of closeness, despite the vast plain. The sound of the hammer on the chisel was tiny: a quiet tap, tap, tap, endless and rhythmic.

Sam tested for sub-surface magnetic variations. She took off her glove and ran her fingers down the rough, blackish rock that formed the hill, and felt the different texture where the veins of blue emerged from it.

"It almost reminds me of P3X-562," she said.

Daniel paused. "The crystal aliens. I thought of that, too."

"But it doesn't seem to have a crystalline structure."

"And the blue's different. Almost purple in spots." Daniel brushed his glove across one of the darker areas in the stone.

Colonel O'Neill returned, boots crunching in the snow. "We went about a hundred and fifty yards and it's all stone. Looks like there might be more hills over in that direction." He pointed to his left, then he and Teal'c walked off. Daniel resumed his chiseling.

Sam was starting to get a headache. From the tapping, from the humid cold, from crouching too long and staring at tiny waveforms and numbers on a palm-sized computer screen. She stood up and took a few paces and watched Daniel pounding the hammer against the chisel. His hair was matted to his forehead from sweating and he bit his tongue while he worked.

It was no use, she thought. He hadn't brought the right tools. She looked over at the MALP, mentally inventorying it for something better.

She had just taken a step forward when she felt it. Felt it before she heard it, but only by seconds. A sharp jolt, then the loud crack, like lightning striking right behind her. She spun around and dropped to her knees, hands on P-90 just in case, half-expecting to see a smoking patch where the lightning had struck. Instead she saw Daniel standing up, backing away, eyes wide with shock. She cautiously stood up and followed his gaze.

Where he had been chiseling, the stone had cracked apart. Was cracking apart, she corrected herself as her eyes followed the break in the snow-covered plain.

Harsh breath and the thudding footfalls of running made her turn around. Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c came to a halt between her and Daniel.

"What was--?" The colonel stopped when he saw the answer to his question. They stared at the gap, about five inches across and impossibly deep.

They stood for a while, until it seemed the crack had stopped, although they couldn't know that for sure, Sam reflected. She glanced at Daniel, who looked less shocked, more concerned. He was still holding his hammer and chisel loosely by his sides. Colonel O'Neill took a step forward, peered down at the crack, then turned to Daniel.

"You broke it?"

That snapped Daniel out of his shock. He frowned at Jack. "I don't see how..." he trailed off, looking curiously at the end of his chisel. "It's impossible."

"Guess you don't know your own strength," Colonel O'Neill muttered, walking beside the crack. Out of the corner of her eye Sam saw Teal'c climbing up the hill.

"O'Neill," he called from the top.

"Yeah?" the colonel called back.

Teal'c motioned with his staff weapon for them to come up. As she trudged behind the colonel and Daniel, Sam glanced back and saw the line of the crack cutting across the snow behind them, extending on and on, out of sight. She had a bad feeling about this.

They were nearly at the top when Teal'c said to them, "This antenna is glowing."

They stopped at the antenna. From its tip a red light streamed out into the misty air. Blurred dots of red formed a line along the ridge, disappearing off into the horizon.

"Uh oh," said Daniel in a hushed voice.

"Ohhh-kay," Colonel O'Neill said and clapped his gloved hands together. "Teal'c, dial us up."

Sam winced before she even heard Daniel's, "Wait a minute. We can't just leave."

"Sure we can."

"But I don't have my sample."

Even Sam had to look askance at that. "Daniel..."

"I thought, now that there's an exposed fault, maybe there are some loose pieces I could just take," Daniel said, shrugging a little and passing his chisel from one hand to the other. His hammer was sticking out of his pocket.

Behind his sunglasses, Colonel O'Neill was glowering, Sam was certain of it. "See these lights?" He swept his arm to indicate the ridge. "Red doesn't usually mean, 'Thank you for breaking our planet. We're so glad you came.' Now, before the natives show up, I think we better go before we do any more damage."

Daniel stared at him for a moment, weighing his choices. "At least let me get my pack."

"Daniel..."

"Sir, the MALP," Sam put in, glancing quickly at Daniel who flashed her a look of gratitude.

Colonel O'Neill slid his jaw from side to side. "Okay. Get the MALP, get your packs, but no souvenirs. Got that, Daniel? No souvenirs."

They were already scrambling down the hill, disappearing over the gentle ridge of white, beyond the curtain of light snow and fuzzy red light.

O'Neill paced from one antenna to the other and back again. Teal'c pulled back his jacket sleeve to expose his GDO so he would be ready to dial as soon as Daniel Jackson and Major Carter returned. He looked at the ridge, expecting to see them appear. They did not.

Teal'c looked at O'Neill.

"Oh, hell," O'Neill said. He marched down the hill after them.

Teal'c covered the GDO with his sleeve, checked that their access to the stargate was not blocked, and followed.

He saw them through the mist before they spotted him. He crouched down, but there was no cover. O'Neill, Daniel Jackson, and Major Carter were not alone. Three aliens stood in front of them. They looked human, though somewhat shorter than the Tau'ri. They were not engaged in battle and Teal'c could see no weapons on the aliens. Daniel Jackson had stepped forward and was talking to them, though Teal'c couldn't quite hear what he said.

How had the aliens reached this place so swiftly, Teal'c wondered. He scanned the area for vehicles but saw nothing.

While two of the aliens talked with Daniel Jackson, the third alien looked about. It squinted in Teal'c's direction and shouted back a word Teal'c didn't understand. Everyone stopped and stared.

"Teal'c!" O'Neill called. From his voice, Teal'c understood that O'Neill wanted him to stay where he was. Teal'c was ready to run back to the gate so he could go for help, but he didn't move. It might anger the aliens.

Daniel Jackson came forward and joined the alien who was staring at him. "It's okay, Teal'c," he yelled. He glanced back at O'Neill, then at the aliens. "They've welcomed us."

Reluctantly, Teal'c climbed down the hill and joined his friends. The aliens stared up at him, silent. Their eyes were narrow and dark, their skin a silvery tan, and their hair a deep purplish brown. They wore similar clothes: long coats, trousers, and boots. One was male, for he had a mustache and beard, but Teal'c couldn't guess the sex of the other two.

He noted their tracks in the snow. They came from the hills, some distance away. The aliens had run to this spot. Teal'c could not discern an entrance into the hill. It might be camouflaged.

One of the beardless ones said, "Now we will wait for the rememberers."

"Uh, look," O'Neill said. "How long a wait are we talking about here? We've got to get back home."

The bearded alien's expression did not change, but his voice was puzzled. "You said you would help us repair the memory, the stone, as you call it."

"We will," Daniel Jackson said firmly.

O'Neill looked at him for a moment. He faced the bearded alien again. "We will. We promise we'll come back."

Everyone stood silent in the cold air, breath misting around them. Two of the aliens looked at each other, expressions blank. The bearded alien said, "I do not think you understand. As long as the memory is broken, the great ring, what you call the stargate, will not function."

The aliens didn't seem impatient, just slightly disapproving, when Jack insisted on testing this bit of news. Jack supposed he'd feel much the same if he was being accused of lying in so many words. Two of the aliens came with him and Carter as they climbed over the hill and down to the stargate. Carter dialed every address she could think of, examined the DHD, stood back and shook her head.

"I can't explain it, sir. It's like it's been drained of power. If we had a naquadah generator, maybe I could rig something up..." She placed her hand over the central crystal of the DHD again. It did nothing. "There are tools on the MALP. I could try taking it apart, but the fact is, without some idea of what's wrong with it, I don't even know where to begin."

Jack looked at the aliens, expecting a supercilious "told you so." The aliens looked at him blankly.

"That's okay, Major. I guess we'll help repair the stone first after all." He looked up at the hill, which he'd already climbed three times today. One more climb wouldn't kill him. Probably.

It was getting dark by the time they reached the others. The cloudy sky turned a dark greyish blue. Daniel had been making friendly with the aliens, apparently, because he'd gotten to know their names.

"This is Gelba," he said, indicating the beardless one who'd stayed behind. He approached the one with the beard. "I understand you're Kahna." The alien bowed his head. "And Abahta." The other beardless alien bowed its head. "I'm Daniel, this is Jack. Sam. Teal'c."

The aliens sat down in the snow. Gelba reached into his coat and pulled out a small container. It looked like metal. He set it down in the snow and pressed something on its side. A flicker, then a flame ignited inside the container, gradually growing to a steady, small fire.

"Please sit," Abahta invited them. "We brought food."

Jack looked down at them and drummed his fingers on his P-90. "So, when do we get started? The sooner we repair your stone, the better for all of us, don't you think?"

Gelba looked at Kahna and Abahta. "Tomorrow you will repair the memory."

Jack raised an eyebrow, about to speak. Daniel jumped in. "Why tomorrow? Jack's right. Shouldn't we try to repair the damage immediately?"

"The rememberers will help you repair the memory," said Kahna. "They will not return until tomorrow."

"Where are these rememberers?" asked Teal'c. Jack heard the skepticism in his voice.

"They are travelling. To assess the damage," Abahta replied. "In order to repair the memory, the extent of the damage must be known."

Jack glanced at Carter, Daniel, and Teal'c. With a shrug, he swept some snow away with his boot and sat down on the blue stone. The others followed. Kahna pulled a pouch out of his coat. It was filled with something that looked like grey moss. He offered it to Jack.

"No, thanks." Jack gently waved it away. "Watching my calories."

Carter and Daniel both tried a bit of it, and looked like they were going to gag. Teal'c explained that he did not require sustenance at that moment, so the aliens finished the moss stuff for dinner. Jack and Carter broke out some MREs, but Daniel said he'd wait for the moss to settle.

"Where do you live?" Daniel asked Abahta, who was sitting closest to him.

"In the village."

"Where's that?"

Abahta pointed to the hills.

"You live beyond there?" Abahta pointed again. "Inside the hills?" Daniel asked. Abahta bowed her head.

Daniel brushed some snow away, exposing the blue stone. "Tell me about the stone. That's why we came here, to learn about the stone. We think it may be very powerful."

Abahta hesitated, and looked at Gelba and Kahna. Kahna said, "It is the memory. It is strong."

"Why do you call it 'the memory'?" asked Carter. The aliens just looked at each other.

"You can ask the rememberers your questions," Gelba said. "Tomorrow."

Daniel scooted a little closer to the fire. "Just one more question," he said, smiling a little. "I'm sorry for the damage I caused, and I will help you repair it if I can. But I'd like to take a sample of the stone with me, just a small one."

Jack raised his eyebrows. He had to admire Daniel's balls in asking for a sample after he'd broken their planet. The aliens looked puzzled and wary.

"Please," said Daniel. "I think it may be very important."

"No one has ever taken part of the memory before," said Gelba. "You should wait for the rememberers."

Daniel sat back. "All right. I will. Thank you."

Jack stared at him. "Daniel?"

"Well, they didn't say no."

There was no breeze that night, but the still air was frigid. The aliens were content to sleep in their long coats, if they did sleep, for they were still awake and sitting by the fire when Daniel burrowed into his sleeping bag and closed his eyes.

As he started to relax, he thought of Jack. Jack keeping him warm, wrapping him in his arms, covering him with his body. Getting him really hot. Okay, he had to stop thinking about that, no matter how cold he was, because now was not the time and not the place.

Instead he thought about how calm Jack was being, considering the circumstances. The gate wasn't working, so they were trapped here, and how anyone was going to repair a rift in solid stone that extended for miles, Daniel had no idea. And he'd struck the blow. Whatever Jack was saving up for him, he was grateful Jack hadn't unleashed it here, in front of their hosts.

At least they hadn't been threatened and they still had their weapons. And their hosts seemed certain that everything would be all right tomorrow. Daniel hoped so, but he lacked their certainty.

He was startled awake by light and cold. He opened his eyes to see a bald young man standing over him, smiling. Another bald person, possibly a woman, stepped next to the young man and said, "Is he the one?"

Daniel sat up and checked the camp. It was a misty dawn. Jack and Sam were still asleep. Teal'c was sitting with his legs crossed and eyes closed, meditating. Gelba, Kahna, and Abahta were a few yards away, kneeling and bowing.

"You must be the rememberers," Daniel said, unzipping his sleeping bag and standing up.

There were two more of them, another man and woman. They were all bald and wore white robes belted with rope, like monks.

"Jack, they're here. Sam," Daniel said. When there was no response, he gently toed Sam's sleeping back, nudging her. She didn't stir. He crouched down and shook her shoulder, then reached inside her sleeping bag, checking for a pulse. Strong and steady.

He glared at the monks. "What's going on? What have you done with them?"

"They are safe," the young man said. "They are sleeping. We called to the one who broke the memory, and you answered. All is well. You alone broke the memory, you alone will repair it. We will guide you."

"They're not hurt?" Daniel asked. He checked on Jack next, confirmed a strong pulse. He took Teal'c's pulse at his wrist. He sat back on his heels and looked up at the monks.

"They will wake when the memory is whole," the monk said. "Come, show us where you broke it."

Daniel glanced at Jack, Sam, and Teal'c, and chewed the inside of his lip. He'd have to risk it, and believe the monks were telling the truth. He made sure Sam and Jack were snugly covered in their sleeping bags before he stood up.

He led the four monks to where he'd been hammering on the stone. It hadn't snowed overnight, and the blue stone was still exposed, the deep rift in it cutting through the plain of white. One of the nuns knelt down and touched the rift. She closed her eyes and started humming a single low, droning note.

"Why did you break the memory?" the young monk asked.

Daniel adjusted his glasses. "It was an accident. I wanted a sample of the stone, and was trying to get one. In fact..." He paused, distracted by the nun's unwavering humming. He looked at the monk and continued, "I'd still like a sample to take with me, if that's possible. It may be very important."

The monk looked down at the rift, thoughtful. "The memory is very strong," he said at last. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Please."

"Then it shall be."

Daniel smiled. "Thank you. This could mean a lot for my world, for my people."

The monk smiled back. He had an open, gentle face and a broad, friendly smile. "Please sit down, where the break began."

Daniel sat down on the stone at the start of the rift. The nun never ceased humming. The other nun and monk knelt behind her and clasped their hands over their laps. The young, friendly monk sat down next to Daniel.

"What do I do?" Daniel asked. "How does it work?"

"You have many questions," the monk said. He leaned forward and reached into the rift and with his fingers he worked loose a piece of stone about three inches square and half an inch deep. Daniel frowned a little. The stone had been so solid he thought he'd break his chisel on it. Maybe splitting it had weakened it around the break.

"Now we begin," the monk said. "Place your hands next to the break."

Daniel took off his gloves and leaned forward to rest his palms on either side of the split.

"Close your eyes."

Daniel closed his eyes and listened to the humming and the monk's quiet voice guiding him.

"Be at peace. Think of the memory whole."

Daniel tried to blank his mind and remember the stone unbroken. After a moment, he said, "It's a little hard to be at peace right now. I still have questions."

"Ask them."

"Who are you? How do we repair the memory stone? How does it work?"

"I am Rememberer Atahndimaj." The man's voice was calm and quiet. "We repair by healing the break. The memory does not work. It is."

Daniel paused, taking this in. "Ah. Okay. When I said 'work,' I meant, what does it do?"

Atahndimaj said, "It is." His fingers touched Daniel's hand, pressing it against the stone. "Feel it, and you will understand. Be at peace. Think of the memory whole."

All Daniel could feel was cold, flat stone. "Thinking will repair the memory?" He frowned at little. "You don't happen to know someone named Oma Desala, do you? We met on a place called Kheb..."

Atahndimaj rested his hand over Daniel's. "Calm," he said, speaking slowly and quietly. "Be at peace. Think of the memory whole. Think of your home. Go there now and be at peace."

Daniel took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Be at peace." Atahndimaj's voice surrounded him. "The memory will be whole."

\------

Jack jerked awake and blinked. It was morning. The sky overhead was a bright, unbroken ceiling of clouds. Judging by the light, it was hours after dawn. He sat up stiffly and rubbed his arms and legs under the sleeping bag. Next to him Carter was climbing out of hers, and it looked like Teal'c was coming out of a deep kel-no-reem.

"Where's Daniel?" Jack asked, standing up. As soon as he said it, he saw Daniel walking toward them, carrying his pack, followed by four bald guys in robes.

"Hi, guys. It worked," Daniel called to them from a few yards away.

Carter rolled up her sleeping bag. "What worked?"

"The memory stone's been fixed," Daniel said as he reached them. His face was flushed and he was oozing excitement. Excitement of the geeky, archaeologist, cultural observer sort.

Jack exchanged a look with Carter, who raised her eyebrows and shook her head slightly. "Fixed? How?"

"I don't know. I had my eyes closed," Daniel said. His hood was thrown back, and sweat matted his hair to his forehead. He was fiddling with something in his right hand. It looked like a piece of blue stone.

"I thought I told you no souvenirs," Jack said, nodding at the stone.

"Oh, this. They gave me this." Daniel slipped the stone into his pack. "These are the rememberers. They healed the memory with me."

The four bald guys -- well, a couple of them were girls -- came up behind Daniel and bowed. One of the men said, "You are welcome here. The memory is whole again."

"Yeah." Jack looked past the aliens in robes. He could see the line in the snow where the rift had been. The blue stone was unbroken. He walked over to it and brushed more snow away with his boot. Carter and Teal'c joined him.

"It's incredible," said Carter. "How is this possible?"

"I have never seen anything like this," Teal'c said.

Jack noticed their alien friends from last night standing up and bowing to Daniel and the rememberers. He went back over to their camp.

"You did this?" he asked Daniel.

"Yes." Daniel caught his look. "I don't know how, exactly. I was meditating. The rememberers helped me. Or maybe they did it all, and just told me I did it, but however it was done, it's fixed now."

"Can we go home now?" Jack asked Gelba.

One of the bald men replied, "Yes. The great ring is also whole again."

Daniel looked at the aliens. "Jack, now that it's fixed, do we have to leave? I'd like to see their village, find out more about their culture, and what they know about the stone."

Jack stared at him. "Daniel." He waited until Daniel looked at him and lowered his voice. "Let's not outstay our welcome, huh? You already broke it once, and you've got your souvenir, so let's just go while we can. Before they change their minds."

Daniel lowered his voice to match Jack's. "But they haven't even threatened us, they didn't take our weapons, they've been nothing but friendly to us--"

Jack patted him on the shoulder. "Then let's keep it that way, shall we?" He stepped back and smiled at the aliens. "Well, folks, it was great meeting you. Thanks for... everything. And now we'll be on our way."

The aliens bowed. Carter and Teal'c had the MALP ready. Jack waved and started for the hills, glancing back to check on Daniel. Daniel bowed to the aliens and said his good-byes, then caught up with them.

Jack was skeptical about the gate. They'd come across hundreds of these and had never seen one disabled by a broken stone thousands of feet away before. In the back of his mind was the thought that something else was wrong with it. But when Carter dialed the symbols for Earth and hit the central crystal on the DHD, everything fired up without a hitch.

_They rigged it,_ he thought. _Somehow they rigged it so we'd have to stay and repair the stone._ And he didn't understand that, either, but now it didn't matter because they were going home.

He was not at all surprised when Daniel stayed on base after the debriefing to play with his new toy, aided and abetted by Carter. Jack finished up his paperwork and headed home after stopping by Carter's lab and finding the two of them there, hunkered over the stone and various gadgets.

"Get some sleep, kids," he told them, standing in the doorway and patting the doorjamb. "We only have forty-eight hours before the next shindig."

Carter looked up and smiled at him. Her go-away-I'm-busy smile. Daniel didn't even look up. Kids and their toys.

Even so, Jack found himself restless a few hours later when he hadn't heard from Daniel. Okay, they didn't always spend every minute of their leave together, but they'd been robbed of over half a leave already. By one hell of a badly timed interruption. Jack had thought Daniel would want to recoup the losses. Maybe he'd underestimated the allure of the stone.

He called Daniel's office, then Carter's lab. Carter told him Daniel had gone home. He ordered Carter to go home, too, for all the good it would do, and drove over to Daniel's apartment, stopping on the way to pick up some steaks.

Daniel answered the door holding a bag of frozen green beans. He was reading the back.

"I think you just thaw them out and cook them," Jack said, stepping inside.

Daniel shot him a look that said he knew as much and walked back to the kitchen. "I was reading what they said about thawing them in the microwave. I'm starving."

"Good," Jack said, following him into the kitchen. He held up the grocery bag. "I brought steaks."

Daniel glanced over at him. "You did?"

"Sure." Jack bent down to get the charcoal out of the cabinet. "I'll fire up the hibachi, and you can work on the green beans."

"Uh. Okay."

Jack got the hibachi going and arranged the steaks. Daniel periodically came over to the door to stand there and watch him, then disappeared again. When the steaks were done, Jack tonged them onto two plates and brought them inside. Daniel cleared off some space on the dining table and spooned out two servings of the green beans.

Dinner was quiet. Daniel seemed distracted by something. The blue stone, maybe, but Jack had a feeling it was something else. They finished, and Daniel took the plates into the kitchen.

"What did you and Carter find out about the stone from 572?" Jack asked, bringing in the leftover green beans.

"Not much yet. But we're pretty sure it's the same stone as the ones I found on P4X-925. I have to go over my notes from 925 again." Daniel rinsed the plates.

Jack rested his hand on Daniel's back. Daniel paused, then rinsed off the silverware. Jack fanned his thumb over the short hairs on the back of Daniel's neck.

"You feeling okay?" he asked.

Daniel scrubbed a fork with the dishcloth. "Yes."

Jack wrapped his arms around Daniel's waist and kissed behind his ear. "Good."

Daniel froze. He set the cloth and fork down in the sink and stood perfectly still. "Jack. Uh, are you making a pass at me?"

Puzzled, Jack let him go and stepped back. Daniel turned around and looked at him, and the hairs on the back of Jack's neck prickled. Jack's first reply had been, _Are you kidding? Of course I am,_ but the words died in his throat the instant he saw the look on Daniel's face.

Daniel wasn't kidding. Daniel was shocked.

They stood in the kitchen, staring at each other. The water was still running in the sink, and the whole room smelled like green beans. Daniel reached back and switched off the faucet.

His heart was pounding in his chest. He chanced another look at Jack and was bewildered by the look of horrified confusion on Jack's face. Something was very wrong. Wrong with Jack, of course, for Jack to be making sexual advances at him. Though even as Daniel thought this, a doubt shadowed his mind.

He wasn't alarmed. He wasn't repulsed. Those first seconds, when Jack's arms had slid around him, he'd actually felt... something. Daniel frowned and tried to focus, tried to slow his pulse and remain calm.

"Something's wrong, isn't it?" Daniel said.

Jack took a breath and looked slightly relieved. "Yeah, something's wrong."

Daniel waited for him to explain what, but Jack just kept staring at him that way, examining him. It was unnerving. All his efforts to remain calm were quickly crumbling to nothing.

"You're you, right?" Jack asked, looking him over.

Daniel frowned. "What?"

Jack waved it off. "Yeah, okay, doesn't matter."

Daniel folded his arms across his chest. "It doesn't matter? Jack, you just made a pass at me. I think that matters."

Jack stared at him again. "Yeah, maybe." He paced a few steps, out of the kitchen, back in. He paused and squinted in concentration. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"You making a pass at me."

Jack shook his head. "No, no. I mean, before we left for the planet. 572."

Daniel thought back, but the memories were jumbled in his confusion. His palms were clammy, and the back of his neck felt hot. "I don't know," he said slowly, and the certainty that this was the wrong answer made each word sink like lead. "I was here, I guess."

"Here," repeated Jack. "When you got Hammond's call, you were here?"

Daniel turned away and paced in a circle and worked past his fear to concentrate. He remembered arriving at the SGC vividly, and the briefing with Major Gonzalez. Before that, it was a little sketchy. He could remember eating a donut and curling up inside a blanket to keep warm. "Yes. I think so. Why?"

"Just bear with me." Jack drummed his fingers on the counter, thinking. "You remember P4X-925, right?"

Daniel felt a chill. What the hell did 925 have to do with anything? "Yes, sure. I was there with SG-11 under Major Gonzalez. We found the blue stones there."

Jack shot him a look. "What happened after that? When you got back?"

Daniel felt the tide of panic rising. What did all these questions mean, and what did they have to do with Jack coming on to him? This was insane. Something was very wrong. Maybe he was in the wrong place. Another parallel universe, a bad dream... Was Jack coming on to him a bad dream, though? It wasn't exactly a nightmare. Maybe he was still on 572 experiencing some alien's idea of a sick joke.

"What's happening?" he said with as much calm as he could muster. "What does 925 have to do with it?"

Jack looked at him, and his expression changed. It startled Daniel out of his panic and made him ache, to see such loss, such confused sadness. "Nothing," Jack answered, and he winced a little, as if Daniel should know this.

Now his heart was hammering and going to explode. Daniel felt beads of sweat on his forehead and palms. When was he going to wake up? When was the dream or joke or wrong universe going to end? He looked around. This was his kitchen. Those were his dishes. He slapped one palm against the counter. It was real, it was solid. Yet his life was unraveling.

Jack slid his hands into his pockets and stepped out of the kitchen. He stood in the dining area, facing the balcony. "Daniel. Where did you get the hibachi?"

"The..." Daniel paused, thinking, desperate to get the answer right this time and end this madness. He focused on the hibachi. "You gave it to me."

Jack exhaled in relief. "Yeah, that's right. And what happened after that?"

Daniel remembered Jack bringing the box, setting it up on the balcony. He could remember eating the steaks Jack had grilled outside. "Nothing. We had steaks, and that's it."

Wrong answer. Jack didn't say anything, but Daniel could tell by the way he stood there, not looking at him. He took a couple of steps closer to Jack.

"What--" Daniel broke off, unsure how to ask. "Are you saying we... That we've... Um, what are you saying?"

Jack looked at him then, grim. "They did something to you. Those priests on 572. I don't know how or why, but that has to be it."

Daniel almost asked, _Are you sure?_ but the look in Jack's eyes was all the answer he needed. He felt dizzy now. Yes, his life had unraveled, apparently, and he hadn't even noticed. And even more insane, what he'd lost was the fact that he and Jack were... had... were doing _something_ with each other, as incredible as that seemed. His stomach did a flip. What else had he lost?

He stepped closer, keeping a small distance between them. "Then we'll go back," he said. He was ready to go now, before everything unraveled and it was impossible to fix. He and Jack were... It was startling.

"Yeah," Jack said, watching him closely.

Daniel blinked and returned his gaze. "You don't think I... Look, I don't even know what I lost, but whatever it was, I want it back."

Jack relaxed a little. Daniel thought he might smile, but he didn't. "Okay," Jack said. "We'll go back."

On the way to Cheyenne Mountain, Daniel thought of how to explain it to General Hammond. It wasn't going to be easy, since he couldn't tell Hammond exactly what memories he'd lost. He'd tried asking Jack, but Jack wouldn't tell him. Jack was grim and just barely containing his anger at the priests on 572. And although Daniel was sure he wanted his memories back -- he felt violated without them, whatever they were -- he kept looking at Jack and trying to believe that it was true. Tried to break past the barrier of what was lost, but he kept encountering blank pages where scenes from his life had been.

And then there was the mystery of why they'd been taken in the first place. Daniel reviewed his life and was reasonably sure the rest of it was there: his parents, his foster family, college, Abydos, Sha're, and five years with SG-1. He had a lot of memories of Jack. Just not any memories that included kisses on his neck.

Jack parked the truck. Daniel rubbed the spot behind his ear where Jack had kissed. It had been a sweet kiss. It implied that they could be sweet with each other. Daniel walked with Jack and entered the mountain, wondering just what kind of relationship they had. Jack, smart-ass friend, crabby colonel, being sweet? That unsettled him more than the kiss itself had.

General Hammond was in a debriefing with SG-6, so they waited in Daniel's office. Jack wandered around the room, checking out the bookshelves. Daniel sat at his desk and called up his notes on P4X-925, but didn't read them. The debriefing seemed to be taking forever.

"I don't feel any different," Daniel said.

Jack picked up a clay pipe shaped like an animal and looked it over. He didn't know what to say to that.

"I should feel different, shouldn't I?" Daniel looked up at him.

On one level, Jack wanted to say yes. Everything they had together, everything they had worked for and were determined to hold on to for as long as they could, no matter how fragile, how dangerous it was -- how could Daniel have lost all of that and not known? How could he lose it and not feel different?

But on another level, Jack was quietly seething at the alien priests. They'd done a number on Daniel, so effective that Daniel didn't even know what he'd lost. Jack probably wasn't going to get a chance to wring their necks; they needed the priests to get Daniel's memories back. In the meantime, he could occupy his thoughts imagining kicking them to hell and back.

They were finally called to General Hammond's office. Hammond looked tired. He closed a folder and set it aside and looked up at them.

"You said this was about P2S-572," he said.

"Yes, sir," said Jack. "We have to go back. The aliens have done something to Daniel."

Hammond looked to Daniel for clarification. Daniel hesitated.

"Doctor Fraiser gave SG-1 a clean bill of health," the general prompted.

"It's not physical, General," said Daniel. "It's... I've lost certain memories. We believe the aliens, the rememberers, on 572 may have taken them from me. Probably during the ceremony where I repaired the stone."

General Hammond clasped his hands over his desk. "We all forget things, son. How can you be sure?"

Daniel gestured and looked at Hammond earnestly. "They're important memories. Not things I would forget."

Hammond looked at Jack. "You believe Doctor Jackson?"

"Yes, General. I recommend SG-1 return to P2S-572 immediately, before Daniel loses more memories. We have no idea if this will spread or what. Daniel could forget everything."

Daniel glanced at him, but wisely refrained from commenting on Jack's embellishment. Hell, for all they knew, it could be true.

That swayed the general. "All right. Have SG-1 ready in an hour."

Jack had them ready in thirty minutes, since Carter had disobeyed his order to go home and had stayed on base, and Teal'c was in his quarters. Daniel quickly filled them in, the abridged version, while they changed.

"I don't see how that's possible," said Carter. "The stone itself shows no unusual properties."

"Except that it can repair itself, Major." Jack shrugged into his parka. "Look, they did something. Maybe they drugged him. You said your eyes were closed, right?" Daniel nodded without pausing in zipping up his parka and putting on his gloves.

"To remove selected memories, but not cause further brain damage..." Carter shook her head. "They must have very advanced technology, sir, and a greater understanding of the memory centers of the brain than we do."

"And they're going to use that technology and understanding to give Daniel his memories back," Jack stated firmly. He believed this; he had to. He wasn't going to panic and scare Daniel further. He was going to believe, because they were going to get this fixed.

It was dark on 572, and a light snow was falling. They climbed up the hill to the ridge with the antennas, and trudged down the other side. The plain was empty.

"I believe the alien village is located in the hills that way," said Teal'c, pointing with his staff weapon.

"We have no idea where," Carter said.

"Well, short of breaking the planet again, which will strand us here, I don't have any other ideas, Major," Jack said, and caught her irritated look. Yeah, well, he was in a bad mood getting worse by the minute. Not helped any by Daniel's sudden silence and wariness since they'd arrived on the planet.

They followed the hills in the direction of, they hoped, the village. Jack hung back to walk next to Daniel.

"You okay?"

They walked a few steps before Daniel replied, "Yes. I was hoping that coming back here would help me remember. I guess that would have been too easy."

Jack almost patted his shoulder, but he let his hand drop. "It doesn't matter how hard it is. We'll get through this."

An hour later, he was wondering if that were true. He stopped the search. "The aliens ran up to Daniel and Carter in a matter of minutes. Even if they left their village the minute the stone cracked, it couldn't have taken them this long."

"We have gone too far," agreed Teal'c.

Jack looked at the sky. "It'll be light soon. We'll have better luck then. Let's rest."

They sat on an outcropping of black rocks mixed with veins of blue and watched the sky slowly fading from black to grey. Teal'c kept searching, but returned unsuccessful. When it was light enough, they doubled back. The snow fell around them, light and misty.

It was Teal'c who found the entrance. Sam had thought it was only a shadow in the rocks, but Teal'c had jogged ahead and inspected the twists and turns of the rocks and discovered a cave. He waved at them with his staff weapon.

"This has to be it," said Colonel O'Neill.

Sam held her P-90 ready and went in first, cautiously scanning the walls of dark rock. She'd gone a couple of yards when she saw something sticking out of the cave floor. Two antennas, one on either side of the path. They looked like the ones on top of the hills. She walked through them.

A loud buzzing sound surrounded her, and a bright light shined in her eyes. She spun around to see Colonel O'Neill, Daniel, and Teal'c behind her, right where the antennas were. Colonel O'Neill pushed forward, but was stopped by a forcefield. The tops of the antennas were glowing red.

"Who are you?" a voice called behind her. She turned around and the bright light moved aside. An alien in a long coat stepped forward, carrying a square metal lamp. It came closer, then stopped and smiled.

"The visitors from the great ring." It was the alien called Kahna. "We did not expect you to return so soon."

Sam lowered her P-90. "Please," she said. "It's urgent. We need the rememberers."

Kahna didn't ask a lot of questions. He told Sam to wait, left the lamp with her, and hurried off into the dark tunnel. Sam examined the antennas to see if she could switch off the forcefield, but couldn't find any controls or obvious power sources. Kahna returned with the four rememberers. They walked through the forcefield first, and the antennas stopped glowing. Kahna gestured for Sam to follow, and they all left the cave together.

Outside in the snow, Daniel was trying not to let his impatience show. He faced the priests, took a steadying breath and said, "You took something from me when I healed the memory stone. I want it back."

The priests exchanged looks. One of the priests said, "The memory is very strong. Are you sure?"

Daniel glanced at Colonel O'Neill. "I'm sure."

The priests conferred with each other. "It may be done, but it is dangerous."

"I'm willing," Daniel said. The rememberers bowed and led the way back to the spot where Daniel had broken the stone. Daniel walked with them, briskly, trying to hurry them along.

Sam wondered again what memories he had lost. Something important. It was terrifying to think of it: following the threads of one's life, only to find them cut off. Searching helplessly for other threads. Aware that something is gone, but not knowing what.

SG-1 and Kahna stood back a little as the rememberers formed a circle around Daniel and told him to sit. He sat cross-legged on the blue stone surface, and they sat around him. They all closed their eyes. One of the priests touched Daniel's hands and laid them flat on the stone, speaking to him in a voice so low Sam couldn't hear what was said.

It was taking a long time. Sam glanced at the colonel and saw his mouth set in a grim line, his piercing stare at the priests. All the priests were speaking now, or silently miming the words.

She felt a jolt and heard a cracking sound. Kahna cried out. Daniel's eyes flew open.

"Oh, no," he said, staring ahead. Sam followed his gaze and felt an emptiness in her stomach. A crack was forming in the stone.

Daniel shut his eyes again, and the priests kept speaking. What were they saying? What was happening? At last, they let his hands go. Daniel opened his eyes and rubbed his palm across his forehead. The crack that had started to form was sealed.

Daniel stood up, a little shaky. The rememberers helped him regain his balance. They rejoined SG-1.

"The memory is very strong," said one of the priests to Daniel. Daniel nodded his head, looking a little dazed.

"Well?" asked Colonel O'Neill.

"Let's go home," said Daniel.

The colonel looked at him for a moment, then gave a curt nod. "Okay, let's go."

Kahna and the rememberers watched them leave; they were still standing on the plain when SG-1 reached the top of the hill. Daniel dialed the DHD on the other side, and they gated home, where General Hammond was waiting, with Doctor Fraiser. Just in case.

\-----

Daniel sat in his apartment while twilight settled the room in darkness. He pressed his fingers to his temple to fight off the headache. The room was quiet, still, solemn.

He'd failed. For a moment on 572, he had almost had it. No single memory had come to him, but an impression, fleeting and tantalizing, had brushed his mind. Then he'd heard the cracking sound and opened his eyes, to see the stone starting to break.

The rememberers didn't know what went wrong, but their words gave him a hint. The memory was very strong, they'd said. He hadn't been strong enough to control it. The cost of recovery was breaking the stone again, which meant stranding SG-1 on the planet.

He had explained it all to Jack after they got back. He had been afraid of what Jack might do if he'd admitted the truth while they were still on 572, so he'd waited. But Jack had been calm, defeated. Hurt. That had been the hardest part of all. Not that he'd failed, not that he hadn't been strong enough, but that his failure hurt Jack.

And hurt himself. It was like a chronic disease, this aching to get his life back, to remember. Constant pain.

He had stayed on base working on that damn stone sample for hours, for days, apparently, because General Hammond himself had come into his office and ordered him to go home. Now he was home.

Knowing he'd lost something. Guessing at the magnitude of what he'd lost. And thoroughly, miserably unable to recover any of it.

They had a relationship. He couldn't picture it, couldn't imagine it, and he asked himself how he could have held it so loosely that it could have melted away. Hadn't he already learned, more times than he cared to admit, the hard, bitter lesson of holding on to what is precious before it's gone forever?

His eyes adjusted to the dark. He got up and walked into the bedroom. He lay down on the bed and tried to recapture that fleeting moment on 572, the split second when everything should have poured into him, washed away the pain and panic, and filled the void.

The moment wouldn't come. Everything was lost.

Daniel couldn't accept that. It meant giving up, and living with this failure. It meant struggling to redefine their relationship and reclaim a friendship that was never lost, except now there would be an unbalance, an awkwardness, and guilt. He could lose Jack, and he wasn't ready to do that. Not yet. Not ever.

\-----

He'd known.

As soon as Daniel had said, "Let's go home," Jack had known. They had gone home, and Jack had waited, and Daniel had finally told him. Admitted that the priests had failed, that the stone hadn't worked. Daniel seemed to think it was some weakness on his part, and Jack was sure it wasn't.

He'd seen the crack forming, as everyone else had. That was the choice the priests had given Daniel: remember and stay here, or forget and go home. There had to be another choice. Had to be.

Or maybe he was just being selfish, wanting everything to be like it was.

Nothing was ever like it was. Things happened, the world changed every second of every day. Loss was a fact of life.

Jack didn't bother turning on any lights. He stood in front of the sliding door and watched the last of the twilight fade beyond the trees.

_This is stupid,_ he thought. _There's always another choice._

He knew Daniel would be home. Had better be home, anyway, since General Hammond had been considering dragging him from his office himself. He knocked on the door to Daniel's apartment and waited. Knocked again and heard the lock unbolt.

Daniel's apartment was completely dark except for the light next to the door. Daniel looked like he'd been sleeping, and Jack was momentarily sorry for disturbing him. Then he saw Daniel's bleak, unhappy look, and wasn't sorry at all.

"Hey. I brought more steaks," Jack said, rustling the grocery bag as he passed Daniel.

Daniel shut the door and flicked on another light. "I already ate."

Jack spotted the empty soup can and half-eaten bowl of soup in the kitchen. "You didn't eat, you forcefed yourself. Get the charcoal and stop feeling sorry for yourself."

Daniel stood up straight and pursed his lips. "Excuse me?"

Jack found the bag of charcoal and shook it. Very light. He looked inside. Three briquettes left. Not going to cut it. He sighed and pulled the steaks out. Daniel leaned against the counter next to him and crossed his arms over his chest, frowning at him.

"Part of my life is missing," Daniel said.

"Yeah, I know." Jack drummed his fingers on the counter. He spotted a skillet and switched on a burner. "Unwrap the steaks."

Daniel shot him a look, then unwrapped the steaks and laid them out on the skillet. Jack found the tongs in a drawer.

"I don't suppose you have any mushrooms," he said, watching the juice from the steaks gather in the skillet.

Daniel stared at him for a moment. "Maybe some canned," he said finally, pushing back from the counter. He opened and closed cabinets around him. "No. No mushrooms. I have a can of black olives, though."

Jack raised an eyebrow at him. "Explain to me the leap in logic from mushrooms to black olives."

Daniel replaced the can of olives. "No leap. I was just being informative." He stared into the cabinet before closing the door. "I don't even remember having them. You didn't buy them for me, did you?"

Jack cast him a sidelong glance. He hated this cold water feeling whenever Daniel asked about his missing past. It was like drowning. "For some nefarious, sexual purpose? No." He scooted the steaks around in the skillet.

Daniel leaned his forearms on the counter next to him and watched the steaks. "I should have known that. I should have--"

"Don't." Jack pressed the tongs against one of the steaks and watched the juice run out and sizzle.

"Why did you come over here?" Daniel asked after a moment.

Jack glanced at him and stared at the top of his head, the way his hair grew, the line of his sideburn framing his cheek, the stubble on his jaw and over his mouth which proved he hadn't shaved today. The urge to kiss him, just a small kiss on his temple, to comfort and reassure, was so great that Jack looked away and poked at one of the steaks.

"It's not all sex, you know," he said. "We're friends."

Daniel looked up at him for a long time, until Jack looked back, into his eyes. "That part," Daniel said, "I remember."

The steaks weren't the best, but they were okay. They ate at the dining table, taking their time at being comfortable. After dinner, Daniel pulled two beers from the fridge and went out onto the balcony. Jack followed him outside and they sat on the cement floor and watched the stars over the city lights.

"We've done this before," said Daniel. He took a sip of beer. "Sat out here, drank beer, talked about things."

"We've done it a few times."

Daniel rolled the beer bottle around between his palms. "I want to remember. It's just... gone." Ice crept into his spine as he felt the emptiness. Blank pages.

"I know." Jack's voice was quiet. "It's okay. We're friends. That's not going to change."

Daniel picked at the label on the bottle. "But it's changed already. We had something else. More than friends. How can we just go back in time, go backward?" He glanced at Jack but couldn't see him well, it was too dark. Just a silhouette backlit by the pinkish glow from the streets below. "Doesn't it hurt?"

Jack took a drink and muttered, "Dammit, Daniel. Of course it hurts. I'm just trying to... I want us to deal with it. If we have to live with this, we will. I don't want to..." His voice lowered as he finished, "lose you."

Daniel watched Jack's silhouette take another drink of beer. He took one as well and stared ahead. "That must be some relationship we have," he said quietly. He felt the icy creep down his spine again, and another headache forming, the chill and the beginning of panic. Something precious, and he hadn't held on, hadn't guarded it jealously. He wanted to scream.

"It was. Is."

It was cold by the time they finished their beers. Daniel was surprised when he went back inside and saw that it was only a little after eleven. It felt like the middle of the night. Jack washed the dishes, and Daniel wondered if he always did that. Had trouble picturing Jack being so domestic.

"Do you think you're being selfish because you want me to remember?" he asked, picking at a fraying thread on the dish towel.

Jack didn't say anything, so the answer was yes.

"If you're selfish, then so am I. It's my life. I want it back. My memories, everything." Daniel hesitated, winding the thread around one finger. He watched Jack standing there at the sink, rigid and tense. "I want you back."

Jack's shoulders slumped. "Daniel," he said. "This isn't easy." He stared straight ahead. His voice was quiet, weary. "Don't... Don't make it more complicated than it already is. Please."

Daniel unwound the thread, reached and touched Jack's forearm. He left his hand resting there. To touch Jack felt awkward and uneasy and important.

"They took my memories," he said. "Not my feelings."

Jack took a deep breath and released it. He was making an effort, struggling, but Daniel wasn't sure against what: claiming the touch or pulling away and denying it.

Jack gently moved his arm away. He glanced at Daniel. "I know."

Jack picked up his jacket and walked to the door. Daniel walked with him. Jack paused at the door and gazed at him. _Kiss him,_ Daniel told himself. And felt he wanted to. But did the want come from the moment, or from ghost of his unremembered past?

He tried to smile. "Thanks for the steaks."

"Yeah." Jack almost smiled back. He raised his hand, hesitated, then rested it briefly on Daniel's shoulder. It was an old touch, from long ago, familiar and haunting, and it filled Daniel with a deep ache, wondering if the touch should have felt like more, if it had some special meaning between them, a secret once shared.

Jack let his hand drop. "Those damned blue stones," he said quietly, but without anger, just a wistful kind of defeat. He opened the door and left.

Daniel switched off the lights, closed the balcony door, and went into the bedroom. He stripped, climbed into bed, and stared at the ceiling. What was it like, what had it been like, to have Jack next to him? Jack touching him, Jack kissing him, making love to him? What did Jack's skin feel like against his? He had known this. It had to still be there, deep inside, if he had the strength to find it and pull it free.

Nothing but blank pages, buried under cold, smooth, unmarred blue stone. Daniel curled up under the bedsheets and after a long time, fell asleep.

He kept waking up at random hours, always thinking it was later than it was, his mind clouded and tired and troubled. Then he slept, deep in a dream about climbing a hill and into a cave and swimming in deep, solid blue water.

He woke up completely alert, mind racing.

"Those damned blue stones," he said to the empty room.

Jack wasn't home, which threw Daniel off for a moment before he decided that it meant Jack was at the SGC, which was right where he needed to be. Daniel threw on his clothes and headed for the mountain.

Jack wasn't in his office, either. Rather than waste time hunting him down, Daniel went straight to General Hammond's office, and waited impatiently until the general had finished a phone call.

"General, we have to go back to 572. I know what went wrong."

General Hammond stared at him for a moment, obviously displeased at Daniel's unannounced entrance, then sat back and said calmly, "Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter are at the Air Force Academy, developing training exercises for new recruits. I won't call them back from this assignment. It's too important."

Daniel could barely stand still. "Then let me go with Teal'c. Send me there with SG-11, they've been there before. I have to go back immediately. I know what to do now." Hammond didn't look convinced. In desperation, he clutched at Jack's white lie. "General, the longer we wait, the more I might forget."

Hammond thought for a moment, then lifted the phone. "Are any members of SG-11 still on base?" he asked into the receiver.

Daniel smiled his thanks and rushed for Teal'c's quarters.

\-----

It was payback, Major Gonzalez decided as he trudged up the hill in Doctor Jackson's wake. Teal'c brought up the rear.

Payback, and simple bad luck. If only he'd finished his paperwork ten minutes earlier. If only he hadn't lingered to call Captain Hughes and make sure he was following Doctor Fraiser's orders not to strain his back. He could have been out the door and starting his leave, not here on 572 following Doctor Jackson on what was likely to be a wild goose chase, given Jackson's eagerness and enthusiasm.

The details of the mission were sketchy, and Gonzalez hadn't asked for more. He knew this was the third visit to the planet for Jackson and Teal'c, so something was up. He guessed it had something to do with the blue stones, a guess confirmed when he saw Jackson holding one in the gateroom while they waited for the wormhole to engage. Beyond that, he frankly didn't care, as long as they got it over with quickly and safely and got home so he could enjoy the rest of his leave.

On the other side of the hills, Jackson and Teal'c hurried across the snow, Jackson practically running, looking for something. When they found what they were looking for -- a cave -- Gonzalez waited outside and looked around the bleak grey and white landscape. Teal'c came out first, followed by Doctor Jackson and five aliens. Four of them were bald, dressed in white robes, and looked like monks. Two of them could have been women.

Then everyone walked around until the monks stopped, swept snow away from the blue stone surface, and told Doctor Jackson, "Here."

The aliens knelt on the ground. Jackson sat down with them. Teal'c stood back, but Gonzalez, curious despite his better judgment, got closer. Jackson was talking with one of the alien monks.

"You warned me the memory was strong when I took this," Jackson said, holding out the flat, square blue stone. "I didn't know just how strong."

The monk bowed his head.

"I give this back to you," said Jackson. "And there's something I want you to give back to me."

The monk took the stone from Jackson's hand. Jackson closed his eyes and placed his hands palms down on the blue surface beneath them. Another monk started humming.

What happened next Major Gonzalez could never adequately explain to himself. The monks whispered to Doctor Jackson, telling him to meditate, and Doctor Jackson concentrated and seemed to be struggling with something. He started sweating and breathing hard.

Then there was a jolt, like an earthquake, and a horrible ripping sound coming from the ground. A hole opened up between Doctor Jackson's hands. The monk dropped the square of stone inside, then covered Jackson's hands and moved them over the hole. More whispers, and the hole was gone. The blue surface was completely smooth and unmarked.

The monks stopped whispering and humming, and Doctor Jackson opened his eyes. At first he smiled, then he slumped like he was exhausted. Gonzalez glanced at Teal'c, who'd already noticed. Teal'c helped Jackson to his feet.

The monks stood and bowed their heads. "The memory is whole," they said in unison.

Doctor Jackson bowed his head. He held on to Teal'c's arm for support. "I have one last question."

"Ask it," said one of the monks.

"Why those memories, out of so many?" Doctor Jackson asked.

The monk smiled. "To heal the memory, you needed strength and peace. You drew the memory from yourself. Strength and peace. We thank you for that, and for what you have returned to us."

Doctor Jackson smiled at them. "I understand. Thank you."

Then it was time to go. Jackson seemed a little shaky after his experience, but climbed the hill with determination. Teal'c dialed the DHD, and as the wormhole engaged, Gonzalez saw Doctor Jackson take a deep breath and release it. Curiosity too strong, Gonzalez wanted to ask what Jackson had discovered about the blue stone.

"Doctor Jackson," he began. Jackson was focused on something else, staring at the event horizon. Something beyond it, millions of miles away. Gonzalez let the question drop. Doctor Jackson strode ahead, into the wormhole.

\-----

As he had after their previous visits to the Academy to review the new recruits, Jack felt old and grouchy. If these kids were the future of Earth's defenses, then Earth was in big trouble. Carter, of course, thought he was being too hard on them. And maybe he was. But better too hard than too soft.

He got a beer out of the fridge and sank into the couch, propping his feet up on the coffee table. Trying to shed his grumpy mood. He'd have the beer and call Daniel, see if he wanted to see a movie or something.

He felt a pang, swift and sharp, and let it go. Daniel still had feelings, whatever they were, and Jack wasn't going to guess; he'd let them unfold and find out right along with Daniel. They still had their friendship, no matter what. There was nothing to mourn. They could rebuild. Maybe it wouldn't be the same, maybe it would be. It was worth finding out, either way.

He thought back to their first "dates," though Jack had never called them that. Just hanging out, having dinner, and feeling comfortable in Daniel's company. He wouldn't lose that. He refused to lose that.

Halfway through the beer, the doorbell rang. Jack pulled himself off the couch and answered it. Daniel stood there, looking at him intensely, a brightness in his eyes. Jack stepped back to let him in and took half a second to register, _You remembered,_ before Daniel grabbed his shoulders and kissed him. A long, deep, hard, toe-curling kiss that almost made Jack drop his beer.

Jack broke from the kiss and took a couple of steps backwards before he realized Daniel was maneuvering him that way, down the hallway.

"What made you remember?" he asked.

"I realized what I'd done wrong. I went back to 572. Didn't Hammond tell you?"

"I haven't seen Hammond since this morning. I didn't know." Jack stopped walking backwards and headed into the bedroom. Daniel walked in after him and sat down heavily on the bed.

"Fraiser gave you a clean bill of health?" Jack asked, raising his eyebrow.

Daniel pulled his shoes and socks off and lay back over the bedspread. He smiled a little smugly. "In perfect health, and I came up with enough specific but uninformative answers about my memories to head off another visit to Doctor MacKenzie."

Jack set his beer on the dresser and stood there, watching him. "You know, I meant what I said. It's not just about sex."

Daniel ran his hand across the bed as an invitation, then lifted it up, reaching out. Jack went over and took his hand, and Daniel pulled him onto the bed. Jack half-fell, half-slid into place next to him, on his side.

"It was never just about sex," Daniel said seriously, giving him another intense look, not muted at all by his glasses. After a moment, he half-smiled and added, "But the sex is damn good."

Jack smiled back. "You do remember."

"I remember," said Daniel. He touched Jack's hand, traced each finger and knuckle. Jack spread his fingers and wove them with Daniel's.

"I thought I could, I guess, you know, court you," Jack said lightly. "If you never got your memory back."

Daniel arched one eyebrow. "Do I even want to know what the Jack O'Neill school of courtship consists of?"

Jack shrugged. "Uh, well, I don't know. I thought I could take you fishing."

"Was that what that invitation was, when I had my appendix out?" Daniel blinked at him.

Jack frowned a little. "Not consciously, no."

"So subconsciously, yes," Daniel said, smiling softly. He squeezed Jack's fingers.

Jack kissed his forehead. "Subconsciously, it was me wanting a damn vacation and not wanting to spend it alone." He kissed Daniel softly. "It's a nice cabin, you know. Quiet. All the-- Most of the amenities. Lake jumping with fish."

Daniel's lips brushed his. "That's not what Teal'c said about it." He let go of Jack's hand and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into another kiss, warm, familiar, lazy.

When they drew apart, Jack kissed Daniel's neck, gave it a long kiss with a hint of teeth to make Daniel shiver. "Teal'c's biased," he said. "He got all the mosquitoes."

Daniel slid his hands under Jack's shirt and caressed his back. "Mosquitoes. Oh, you're really making it sound irresistible."

"Mm."

He kissed Daniel again, and Daniel kissed him back, and there was so little time, just a few hours, less than a day. Even so, slow was good, slow was nice, slow was recapturing what had been lost. And the recovery of it could only be celebrated like this: in warmth and breath and skin against skin.

Daniel remembered exactly what they had been doing when Hammond had called. He proved this by shoving the pillows under Jack's hips and seeing the same look of lust-tinged enthusiasm cross Jack's face.

"After what happened the last time," Jack said, running his hands down Daniel's thighs, "do we risk it?"

Daniel reached back to guide him, not answering. The question was rhetorical, of course. As proven when Jack pushed inside him, filled him, a feeling like no other. He wasn't used to it, not yet, but he craved it all the same. Shifted and adjusted and pushed down, and was amazed at what his body knew to do, was amazed at what it made him feel. He had to move, and he loved watching Jack while he moved, feeling Jack while he moved. This he remembered, and nothing to interrupt them now. He didn't even toss a warning glance at the phone, would not tempt fate. He needed this, he had it back.

And Jack's look, watching him; Jack's body, rocking with him; Jack's hands, touching him; Jack's cock, deep inside, stroking him, fucking him... He had it all back, and he needed it all. He captured it, everything, with his body, with his rocking, with his rhythm. Drew it deeper, pressed back to hold it and keep it, until the craving was too great. They pushed together, moved together, rocking, stroking, fucking, touching, loving. Until there were no memories, no past, no future, just now. In an instant, a heartbeat, a breath, a single moment across infinite moments, all falling into each other.

Afterward, after the high tingled away with sweat cooling, they lay in Jack's bed, the pillows flung out of reach, on their backs, shoulders touching. The room was dark but for a sliver of moonlight, or a porch light from across the street, streaking across the ceiling. Daniel ran his hand down Jack's forearm, back and forth, stroking lazily.

"Do you remember Fazkal?" Jack asked.

"Eating lizards, watching you swim naked in a pool, and uh," Daniel cleared his throat and licked his lips as the memory of Jack's taste flooded him for a moment.

"Do you remember the first time I gave you backrub?"

"The porn movie backrub, or the regular kind?"

Jack chuckled softly and his fingers brushed against Daniel's hip.

"Okay, do you remember the first night you spent in this bed?"

Daniel rolled over and hooked his leg over Jack's. He skimmed his fingers across Jack's chest, smiling at the remembered, achingly pleasurable sensation of Jack's chest hair. He gently pinched one of Jack's nipples and kissed Jack's neck.

"Are you going to ask me questions all night, or are we going to do something else?" He kissed Jack's ear.

Jack stroked the small of his back. "Daniel," he said in that quiet, private voice. Just his name, like an affirmation.

Strength and peace. The memory was whole, because the memory was now.

(the end)


End file.
